Canelo Alvarez to fight Callum Smith in title bout in December

Boxing star Canelo Alvarez is officially headed back to the ring.

Alvarez is set to take on British boxer Callum Smith on Dec. 19 in a unification fight for the WBA super middleweight championship, he announced on Instagram. The fight will be broadcast on DAZN, though no location has officially been determined.

Canelo vs. Callum Smith: December 19 on DAZN

ⓘ 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 pic.twitter.com/PP1A1shOak

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 17, 2020

Alvarez boasts an impressive 53-1-2 overall record in his career. He last stepped into the ring in November 2019, when he knocked out Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas to claim the WBO light heavyweight championship.

Alvarez was released from his deal with Golden Boy and DAZN earlier this month after months of legal dispute regarding what was initially the richest deal in sports. He had agreed to fight exclusively on DAZN and earn $40 million per bout — something that Golden Boy couldn’t live up to in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He filed a lawsuit against both DAZN and Golden Boy in September. That was settled earlier this month, and he has since parted ways with Golden Boy.

Smith, 30, has yet to drop a fight in 27 tries in his career. He last took on John Ryder in Nov. 2019 in England, and won by unanimous decision to keep the WBA title.

Canelo Alvarez is ready to step back into the ring. (AP/John Locher)

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